Chapter 10

Qin Qingman shouted loudly and urgently, but it did not slow the speed of the knife’s fall. With a sharp flash of the kitchen knife, the tragic goose’s cries suddenly stopped.

Ah Yun, stunned, stared at Qin Qingman, who had barged into her house, momentarily forgetting to speak.

She had just been startled by Qin Qingman, and unable to adjust the force, could only barely shift the position of the knife, saving the goose from being cruelly decapitated.

Seeing that the goose was not killed, Qin Qingman sighed in relief, put down Chuchu, who was on her back, then awkwardly extended her hand to carefully take the kitchen knife from Ah Yun’s hand, while gently kicking the now stunned goose with her toe.

She kicked it towards Chuchu behind her.

At this moment, Chuchu was no longer afraid of the goose. She quickly hugged it and hid behind Qin Qingman.

“You are… Old Qin Family’s daughter?” Ah Yun shook her wrist, which had gone numb from holding the knife, and looked at Qin Qingman in surprise. Then she glanced at Chuchu, still hiding behind Qin Qingman, holding the goose.

If she wasn’t mistaken, wasn’t that goose hers?

“Aunt Ah Yun, my name is Qin Qingman, and I am Old Qin Family’s daughter.” Qin Qingman smiled apologetically at Ah Yun, then explained her reason for stopping the killing of the goose. “Aunt, I want to trade fabric ration tickets for your goose.”

“Fabric ration tickets for a goose?”

Ah Yun’s gaze on Qin Qingman became even more surprised.

“Yes.” Qin Qingman did not hide anything from Ah Yun and spoke frankly, “Aunt, you know it’s just me and Chuchu at home, and without anything fierce, we’re still worried about sleeping at night. So, I thought of your goose. Your goose is fierce, it will surely guard the house.”

Ah Yun, who had been planning to kill the goose for meat, began to think it over.

Seeing that Ah Yun was clearly interested, Qin Qingman pressed on, “Aunt, you must be thinking of killing the goose because the heavy snow has blocked the mountain, and it’s hard to keep it alive. So, how about this? I’ll trade fabric ration tickets for it, sincerely.”

In these times, although meat was scarce, fabric ration tickets were even rarer.

In an era of scarcity, each person was only allotted three feet of fabric ration tickets per year. Three feet of fabric was enough to make clothes for a small child, but it was hard to spare for an adult.

As a result, fabric ration tickets were in short supply everywhere, and no family could afford new clothes every year.

The moment Qin Qingman mentioned fabric ration tickets for the goose, Ah Yun was tempted, but she was also worried about being at a disadvantage. She cautiously asked, “How do you plan to trade?”

Although Qin Qingman wasn’t very familiar with the specific prices in this era, she knew how rare fabric ration tickets were. She smiled and politely said, “Aunt, name your price.”

“One goose definitely isn’t worth one foot of fabric ration tickets, but my family needs two feet of fabric ration tickets to make a new bridal dress for the child. If you give me two feet, I’ll let you take both geese, and I’ll add some corn for you.” Ah Yun said, stating her price.

Qin Qingman, who only had two feet of fabric ration tickets, hesitated for a moment.

“Thirty pounds of corn.” Ah Yun increased her offer.

Qin Qingman mentally calculated how much food the geese would consume. Thirty pounds of corn probably wouldn’t last for two months, and although geese ate less than dogs, the daily consumption of two geese would still be significant.

“Forty pounds of corn, plus fifty pounds of radishes.” Ah Yun added, worried that Qin Qingman might back out. “Qingman girl, my two geese are quite large, around sixteen or seventeen pounds each. If you take them to the town, you’ll definitely be able to exchange them for a hundred or so pounds of food.”

Qin Qingman knew that Ah Yun wasn’t trying to deceive her. Since there wasn’t much she could do with the two feet of fabric ration tickets left, she decided to agree generously. “Alright, Aunt, I’ll trade with you.”

“Good, good, wait a moment. I’ll have someone send the stuff to your house.”

The deal was made, and Ah Yun, beaming with joy, looked at Qin Qingman with a much gentler expression.

Seeing that Ah Yun was quick to act, Qin Qingman, feeling no need to be cautious, directly pulled out the two feet of fabric ration tickets from her pocket and handed them over. “Aunt, it’s cold, so Chuchu and I won’t stay long. We’ll take this goose and head back.”

The goose, which had almost been slaughtered by Ah Yun just moments ago, seemed either too scared or too intimidated by the knife.

When Chuchu picked it up, it didn’t struggle at all. Instead, it tucked its head under Chuchu’s armpit, not only calm but incredibly docile.

It seemed they were one step closer to having it guard the house.

Seeing Qin Qingman and Chuchu hurrying to leave, Ah Yun didn’t delay either. She went inside to call her husband and child, each of them carrying either corn or radishes, while another person herded the geese. They joyfully escorted the siblings back home.

At the Qin family house, after seeing off Ah Yun and her family, Qin Qingman and Chuchu carefully looked toward a corner of the hall.

The two large geese were listlessly squatting on the corn stalks.

Having experienced the terror of almost dying, the geese, when facing Qin Qingman and Chuchu, didn’t make any ruckus, nor were they hostile, and didn’t peck at them.

“Big sister, they look so pitiful.”

Chuchu squatted from a distance, gazing at the two geese with sympathy.

The two geese, once so arrogant, now looked utterly pitiable.

Qin Qingman said. “They’re our family members now. If we treat them well, there’s no need to feel sorry for them.”

From the moment she decided to raise the geese for guarding the house, she had planned to let them live their natural lives.

“Not going to eat it?”

Chuchu, being a true country child, was always mindful of making full use of everything.

Qin Qingman reached out and gently patted the child’s head, smiling warmly, “Geese live a long time. If we take good care of them, we can keep them for at least ten years. They’ll guard our home for those ten years. Can you bear to eat them?”

“No… I can’t bear to.” Chuchu said, his gaze no longer on the geese as food but as companions.

“Alright, go get some water and clean the geese. It’s warm inside the house, and they need to stay clean.” Qin Qingman instructed, while also cutting a fresh, juicy radish and placing it in front of the two geese.

Upon smelling the radish’s scent, the geese looked up at Qin Qingman and Chuchu for a moment, then sluggishly lowered their heads again.

It seemed the shock they had experienced was quite great, and they hadn’t fully recovered.

Chuchu worked quickly, his short legs carrying him to fetch water. He even knew to mix in a little hot water, as Qin Qingman’s hand felt pleasantly warm when she dipped it into the water.

A rag, soaked in the warm water, was a piece of old clothing that could no longer be worn. Now it was being used to clean the geese.

Kneeling beside Qin Qingman, Chuchu’s big eyes were fixed on the two geese. His expression was anxious, and his little face was tightly tense, even his voice trembling. “Sister, do you think they’ll peck us?”

He vividly remembered how the geese had pecked Liu Sangunzi.

Hearing Chuchu’s question, Qin Qingman felt a little uneasy. She wasn’t sure whether the geese would peck her, their savior.

Although geese could be quite intelligent, these two hadn’t been raised from a young age, so they had no bond with her or Chuchu. Without any connection, anything could happen.

But it was winter, and it was impossible to raise geese outside. They would have to keep them indoors, or else the smell would be unbearable.

“Sister, how about we put them outside in the yard? I’ve heard that geese like to stay clean and will bathe in the snow themselves.” Chuchu looked at the geese with some fear, worried that they might harm Qin Qingman.

Qin Qingman, of course, knew that geese could use snow to clean themselves. But these two had just arrived at their home and weren’t familiar with them. She wasn’t about to let them out just yet.

If they ran off, it would be a waste of the two feet of fabric ration tickets.

“We’ll keep them inside for a few days. Once they’re more familiar with us, we can let them out in the yard to take a walk every day.”

“Okay.” Chuchu said, feeling helpless.

Facing the two famous geese, Qin Qingman extended her hand very cautiously. She also glanced at the ropes tied to the geese’s legs. It was only because their legs were tied that she dared to approach them to clean them.

Ah Yun’s geese were truly notorious. They were not only fierce but also sharp and cautious.

As soon as Qin Qingman’s hand moved closer, the two geese, who had been hanging their heads, quickly raised them to stare at her.

Their eyes were full of fierce and vigilant alertness.

Facing the geese’s almost human-like suspicion, Qin Qingman froze, her hand suspended in midair.

“Eat… eat the vegetables.” Chuchu said nervously, using the tongs to push the sliced radishes closer to the geese’s beaks.

Fearing they might peck him, he quickly pulled his hand back after pushing the radishes toward them.

Qin Qingman’s gaze stayed fixed on the two geese. When she saw that they didn’t peck Chuchu, she let out a sigh of relief.

She hadn’t expected Chuchu to act first.

Although the tongs had some length to them, with the geese’s elegant long necks and lightning-fast movements, no one could get within three feet of them.

The fact that they hadn’t pecked Chuchu meant that the geese didn’t view them as enemies.

“Chuchu, squat a little further back and don’t move around.” Qin Qingman instructed.

She was about to clean the geese, which was a very dangerous task. It could easily provoke the geese, who had just been frightened.

“Okay.” Chuchu obediently stood up and moved back a little further.

This new distance was only about half a meter more than before, but it was the limit for what a child could endure.

Qin Qingman knew Chuchu was worried about her. She didn’t force him to move farther but instead slowly extended her hand toward the geese again.

As soon as she moved, the two geese became alert once more.

Their dark eyes locked onto Qin Qingman’s hand, giving off the clear impression that they were ready to attack if she came any closer.

If it weren’t for needing the geese’s trust, Qin Qingman could have quickly controlled the geese by grabbing their wings near the root, since both of their feet were tied. Even if they struggled, they wouldn’t be able to break free.

But doing so would certainly increase their fear and make it even harder for them to trust her.

Cleaning the geese had been Qin Qingman’s decision after much consideration. Hygiene was one reason, but the main one was to use the favor of having saved their lives to lower their guard and establish trust.

Only when they accepted her as their owner would they protect the house and be loyal.

Her pale, slender hand moved slowly toward the goose again. Both Qin Qingman and Chuchu held their breath, their eyes locked on the geese, their hearts racing.

The two geese grew increasingly wary as her hand drew closer. Their eyes turned sharper and more menacing.

Normally, at this point, Qin Qingman would have given up, but deep inside, she had a subtle feeling—that these two geese wouldn’t actually harm her.

With this feeling, her hand didn’t stop moving.

As her hand got closer, the two geese suddenly stood up, arching their long necks and lunging toward the offending hand…